Driving head for support posts



P 6, 19321 T. R. WILLWERSCHEID ET AL 1,875,637

DRIVING HEAD FOR SUPPORT POSTS Filed May 20, 1931 17; aodo 7 1 TViZZ rven cheid Patented Sept. 6, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT THEODOR R. WILLWERSGHEID, or ROCKY RIVER, AND-HOWARD. i3. nnYronyonrAanA HEIGHTS, OHIO DRIVING HEAD ronsurroa'r rosrs j Application filed May 2o,

' The present invention relates to a driving head for support posts, such as are used to support highway markers and similar signs. Such posts are usually of sheet metal formed into channel or other suitable shape to give rigidity thereto.

It is common practice in the erecting of supporting posts of this nature to drive them into the ground, and to use a cast iron driving head with a curved slot in the lower side thereof, said slot being shaped to conform to the shape of the top of the post to be driven to receive the top edge of the supporting post in said slot to avoid disfiguring the top of the post and to form a more suitable striking surface to receive the blows of a sledge with which the posts are driven into the ground.

The present type of driving caps are open to several serious objections, namely, that they cannot satisfactorily be drop forged due to the nature of the slot in the lower face thereof, and their non-adaptability for use with different sizes of posts, and the weakening of the driving head caused by the slotting thereof.

Among the objects of my invention is th production of a driving cap which can be drop forged and which will have the strength of a solid head, unweakened by any internal slotting, and which further is adapted for use with different sizes of posts.

In order to attain these objects, there is provided, a driving head having a solid upper portion and a pair of downwardly extending fingers on the lower face of said head portion, said fingers being spaced apart to receive a portion of a formed, sheet metal post therein, the lower face of the head portion being adapted to rest on the upper edge of the post to evenly distribute the force of a blow on the driving headover the upper edge of the post, the downwardly projecting fingers being positioned to prevent displacement of the driving head with respect to the post and being adapted to receive different sizes of posts therebetween, the structure being designed so as to be capable of being produced by drop forging.

These and other features of the invention will be more fully brought out in the follow- 193i, serial no. 538,730.;

ing description and the accompanying draw;

ing, wherein:

Figure lis a driving headembodying the present inven% tion.

' Figure 2 is shown in Figure 1; and 7 F igure 3 is a bottom view of the structure shown in Figures 1 and2, a channeled post being indicated in position therein in dotted 1 lines.

view in front elevation 'of a a side view of the'structure Referring-to the drawing in detaiL'the driving headcomprises a top portion l having a flat lower surface 2 and preferably having the up er surface 3 thereof tapered inwardly, as lllustrated, so as to centralize the force of the blows received by the device when driving a post into the. ground. A. substantially rectangular finger portion 4 extends downwardly from the. center of one side of the head portion 1 and is preferably formed integrally therewith. A second downwardly extending finger 5 also preferably formed integrally with the head portion, is spaced inwardly from the finger 4 a distance sufficient to permit the insertion between these members or fingers of the maximum thickness of material of which it is intended to fabricate the posts intended to be driven by the driving head. The inner, downwardly extending finger 5 is of a width to fit interiorly of the smallest post which it is intended to drive with the present driving head, and the dimensions of the lower face 2 of the top portion 1 are such as to preferably cover the top portion of the largest post which it is intended to drive with the'device. A post 6, indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3, isof an intermediate size between the largest and smallest for which the cap is adapted.

It will be apparent to thoseversed in the art, that this structure may be readily fabricated by the process of drop forging. Therefore, the life of a device made in accordance with the present: invention and produced by drop forging will be very much longer than that of the old type of slotted, cast iron driving head.

As will also be apparent, a much stronger and moreefi'ective driving head is secured by.

reason of having downwardly extending fingers from a solid head adapted to hold the driving cap, in position on the post to be driven instead of having the head itself slotted, as heretofore has been done, and that much greater adaptability ofthe device with respect to use with different sizes of posts is secured thereby.

We claim:

1. 'Adriving cap'for channeled metal posts, 7 comprising a solid head portion, a finger member extending downwardly from one side of said head portion, a's'econd finger member extending downwardly from the head portion a spaced distance inwardly from the first finger member,,said finger members being spaced apart a distance sufiicient to admit a side of the post, the width ofthe inner downwardly extending finger portion being of a size to'fitwithin the channel of the post to be driven.

2. A driving cap of the, class described, consisting of a solid driving-head formed with a pair of downwardly projecting fingers, spaced apart to'form an intermediate receiving space for apart of a post to be driven, one of the fingers being positioned from the other finger toward the center of the bottom of the driving head, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof We aifix our signatures.

THEODOR R. VVILLWERSCHEID. HOWARD B. DAYTON. I 

